Coaster-vehicle.



B. A. COLE. & R. E. BONDURANT.

GOASTER VEHICLE. APPLICATION PIL ED JAN. 24, 19M.

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BERT A. COLE AND BOY E. BONDURANT, 0F FORTLANI OREGON.

COASTER-VEI-IIGLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1915.

Application filed January 24, 1914. Serial No. 814,255.

To all whom it may concern: a

Be it known that we, BERT A. COLE and For E. BQNDURANT, citizens of the United States, and residing at Portland, Multnomah county, State of Oregon, respectively, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Coaster-Vehicles, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to vehicles which are ordinarily used for coasting purposes, and the objects of our invention are: to provide simple means for steering the vehicle, which means are to be operated by the person riding on the vehicle throwing his weight in the direction in which he wishes to turn the vehicle.

We attain our objects by pivotally supporting both ends of the vehicle on the wheel bases, by adapting the connections to permit the vehicle body to be tilted laterally, and by connections between the ends of the vehicle body and the axles so arranged that the lateral tilting of the vehicle body, due to a corresponding leaning of the rider, will so position the axles at both ends as to steer the vehicle toward that side of the vehicle body which has been depressed by the swing ing of the body to one side.

The details of construction and operation of our device are hereinafter fully explained.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of our device, a portion of the front end being shown in section; Fig. 2 is a detail of construction; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the front end of our device; Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the operation of the cam element; Fig. 6 is another plan view of the front end of our device, showing a modified type of construction; and Fig. 7 is a perspective front-end view of the same details of construction shown in Fig. 6.

Our vehicle comprises front and rear wheels at. As both ends of our device are the same, we shall describe only one end. The wheels, a, are rotatably mounted on an axle b. A bolster, c, is fixed on the axle by the hook bolts cl. The middle part of the bolster, c, as indicated at e, is cut away so that the bolster will rest on the axle at its two extremities only, in so doing serving as a brace to prevent said axle from bending. A yoke, f, provided at its lower end with a pivot-pin g is rigidly fixed at the middle of said bolster. A running board or body,

h, is suspended between the front and rear axles on the pivot pins g, the pivot holes being of such size as to allow the running board to tilt laterally. Tension springs 2', at the front, connect the bolster, c, with the end corners of the running board; the latter being cut away at both ends (as shown at j in Fig. 3) for the purpose of providing space for the wheels to turn in. By the tension springs 71 the axles are automatically restored to their normal positions as soon as the body of the rider is righted. An angle brace k is fixed to the bolster, 0, by a bolt m, which passes through the yoke f and into the bolster. The lower end of the brace 70 is connected to the running board by a pin a; the hole for the latter being of such size as to allow the running board to tilt laterally about it.

The cam elements 0 consist of two pieces of sheet metal rigidly fixed on the running board at both sides and having inclined faces. When the running board is in horizontal position said cam members 0 will have the relative position shown in full lines in Fig. 5. In the center and toward one end of the running board is mounted a post p, provided at its top with a cross bar 9, which serves as a handle for the operator. The cams 0 at the opposite ends of the running board are reversed, as shown in Fig. 1.

The operation of our device is as follows: Supposing the operator to be standing on the running board in such manner that said running board will remain in horizontal position, by shifting his weight to one side the running board will be tilted in that direction, and the cam member on the opposite side will be elevated so as to bear against the axle b and move the same forward on the pivot point g, thereby causing the vehicle to turn in the same direction as that to which the weight of the body was thrown.

In Figs. 6 and 7 we have shown a variation of the construction shown in the preceding views. Instead of the cam members 0 we have provided a triangular bent rod 1', arranged parallel to the running board, and provided at its vertex with an eye .9; said rod 1'' being fixed to the bolster 0. At the end of the running boardwe provide another rod t, also bent triangular, but in a plane perpendicular to the rod 0'. This rod t is provided at its vertex with a projecting piece t adapted to be engaged in the eye 8 of the rod 1', as shown. When the running board is tilted by the shifting of the weight of the body in either direction, the piece it of the triangular rod t will be so moved, relatively to the bolster c, as to turn the axles b on their pivots g, in the same direction in which the operator threw his Weight.

' q the claims, is to be understood as including runners as well.

We claim:

1. In a vehicle of the character described, a vehicle body, wheel-supported axles pivotally supporting the ends of the latter, the pivotal supports being adapted to permit the vehicle body to be tilted laterally in either direction by the leaning of the person riding on the vehicle; cam elements 7 having inclined faces supported in vertical planes at both sides of the vehicle body under the ends of the axles at both ends of the vehicle, whereby when the vehicle body .is tilted laterally the cam elements thrown in elevated position will bear against the related axle ends and so move the axles as to steer the vehicle toward that side of the vehicle body which has been depressed by the leaning of the rider; and means adapted for automatically restoring the axles to their normal position when the body of the rider has been righted.

2. In a vehicle of the character described, a vehicle body, wheel-supported axles pivota lly supporting the ends of the latter, the pivotal supports being adapted to permit the vehicle body to be tilted laterally in either direction by the leaning of the person riding on the vehicle; cam elements having inclined faces supported in vertical planes at both sides of the vehicle body under the ends of the axles at both ends of the vehicle, whereby when the vehicle body is tilted laterally the cam elements thrown in elevated position will bear against the related axle ends and so move the axles as to steer the vehicle toward that side of the vehicle body which has been depressed by the leaning of the rider; and spring elements adapted for automatically restoring the axles to their normal position when the body of the rider has been righted.

BERT A. COLE. ROY E. BONDURANT.

Witnesses:

C. ScHMrrT, CECIL LONG.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

